HawkeyeKane
570 posts
Dec 22, 2011
9:35 AM
|
I think while they're stored, room temperature is fine. If you want them preheated prior to playing, I personally would prolly want mine in the 75 to 80 degrees farenheit range.
----------
Hawkeye Kane
|
nacoran
5045 posts
Dec 22, 2011
9:35 AM
|
I don't have any science to back this up, but since they are designed to be played, and therefor breathed into and out of, 98.6 F would seem to be a decent starting goal, although on a cold day I suppose a little warmer my feel nice on the lips. What you really need in a situation like that though is a self-heating harmonica (maybe USB?). It could keep your hands and lower face warm on cold busking days. :)
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
|
Pistolcat
75 posts
Dec 22, 2011
10:02 AM
|
Body temperature, around 37 degree Celsius would be perfect. Would lessen condensation on reeds making them less prone to sticking. I hear valves benefit from that too.
@ Nacoran- custom combs out of plutonium would do the trick I think...
----------
Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
|
isaacullah
1703 posts
Dec 22, 2011
10:56 AM
|
I play harp with my computer on a lot, and I find that when I've left a harp right in front of my laptop's cooling fan's vent, they are at the perfect temperature to play. I don't have an infrared thermometer, but they do feel a bit warm to the lips. Not hot, just warm. If I had to guess, I'd say that they are somewhere like 90 degrees? Can't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure that they play better when warmed...
----------
== I S A A C ==
View my videos on YouTube!
Visit my reverb nation page!
|
lumpy wafflesquirt
491 posts
Dec 23, 2011
9:02 AM
|
I normally stick my chrom in my shirt pocket when I arrive at an open mic so it is nicely warmed when I need it.
----------
"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
|
HawkeyeKane
572 posts
Dec 23, 2011
9:08 AM
|
Usually when I arrive at a gig (at an average of at least an hour before showtime) and get my rig set up, my next priority is getting my harps out of my case and into my harp belt under my shirt. They tend to warm up in a bout fifteen minutes that way. If I'm outdoors in chilly weather, I've sometimes stuck a wide heat patch to the back of the belt to help keep them warm.
----------
Hawkeye Kane
|
Greg Heumann
1386 posts
Dec 23, 2011
9:22 PM
|
OK. I'm a skeptic. I know that Chromatic harps don't like really hot temps because the wind savers warp. But there is nothing in my understanding of metallurgy or physics that suggests a harp needs to be warmed up other than for comfort - and you can pick up a cold harp and blow through it for about 10 seconds and it is up to room temp.
Metals function just fine in cold temperatures. We're not talking engines here, where there are metal-to-metal clearances in the tens of thousandths of an inch, with different expansion rates, friction of surface on surface, and potentially low oil flow in the first moments of operation, especially in cold weather.
A harmonica reed doesn't rub on anything. It just bends to vibrate. Just because we are a little cold doesn't mean the metal can't handle it. People work with all kinds of precision metal equipment (like, say, cameras) in temperatures well below freezing.
Am I the only one who thinks this isn't a problem worth solving? My harps sit outside in my car. They're cold in the morning. I pick em up and play 'em. They're just fine - and they're up to "breath" temperature in no time flat. Why? There's hardly any mass there!
----------
/Greg
Last Edited by on Dec 23, 2011 11:03 PM
|
joek18
4 posts
Dec 23, 2011
10:44 PM
|
If you plan to sautee the harp, make sure to get the pan hot before adding the oil.
|
MrVerylongusername
2131 posts
Dec 24, 2011
2:31 AM
|
@Greg
It's nothing to do with the metal itself.
The point is that warm breath on cold metal creates a greater amount of condensation and the droplets cause the windsavers to stick and pop. By warming the metal to body temperature, condensation is limited. Warming the harp by breathing through it is defeating the object.
It's a real issue for chromatic players. I guess it's a problem for valved diatonic players too.
I can't really see or say I've ever noticed a problem for regular diatonics.
Anyway
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2011 2:32 AM
|
Greg Heumann
1389 posts
Dec 24, 2011
10:59 AM
|
I can absolutely see that as a problem for valved harps.
----------
/Greg
|
REM
133 posts
Dec 24, 2011
2:38 PM
|
It can be a problem for diatonic harps (unvalved) as well. That build up of condensation can mess with the tuning. This is why it's important to warm up your harmonica before attempting to tune it, otherwise you'll have a hard time.
Last Edited by on Dec 24, 2011 2:39 PM
|
nacoran
5046 posts
Dec 26, 2011
1:36 PM
|
Pistol- but I don't think the Doc's source is still there in Libya. We'll need to come up with the 1.21 gigawatts some other way.
Buz- I have no idea how much electricity it would take, but my understanding is USB 3 carries considerably more juice that earlier USB devices (and I've heard stories of people getting burns from USB jacks- I imagine is you had a well insulated case it would be enough, but I'm a pure laymen when it comes to electricity so I could be wrong.)
Greg- It depends how cold! If your lips freeze to the harmonica like a tongue to a flag pole you've got problems!
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
|
isaacullah
1705 posts
Dec 26, 2011
8:39 PM
|
Just to clarify: when I said that I was pretty sure they played better, I didn't mean to imply that the reeds worked better. I only meant that my lips don't seem to stick to the coverplates as much, and I don't seem to get as much saliva build up in them, and thus fewer sticky or slow-to-start reeds. I'm fairly certain that his probably has to do with the condensation thing. Oh, and I'm talking about regular 'ol unvalved diatonics.
----------
== I S A A C ==
View my videos on YouTube!
Visit my reverb nation page!
|
